Frozen glasses
by Radiklement
Summary: Jade Curtiss had always seemed cold to Anise. But when she almost died when he was the only one who could save her, her view changed. The colonel could be shaken. It was a terrifying knowledge. But she was glad all the same. One-shot.


Ice glasses…

When something needs to be accomplished, it doesn't mean that it'll be easy. It only needs to be done. And soldiers could easily get a job done. Especially Jade Curtiss. After all, he wasn't any soldier. He was the colonel Curtiss. And the feared Necromancer. Who could try to stop him? No one. He had no consciousness. No limits. It's hard to live in such way. But to get beyond human death sure isn't something that'd make you nicer. And, as a proof, Jade wasn't nice at all. He was a naughty cold-ice-cube man. No doubt he was native from Keterburg.

But those kinds of thoughts mustn't be ours while our heroes are now walking together in the Gate of Absorption. They're about to defeat Van and to save the world. Wouldn't that be rude to try to find all of their weaknesses and faults? Not at all if we're talking about the colonel. He's so obnoxious and careless that he wouldn't care about our babbling over him. Well, he wouldn't care, at least, if we were talking about him when he's the "false himself". Because during this time they spent in the gate of Absorption, our heroes were separated and caught in crossed fires...

Their team wasn't the same. It was torn apart. And Jade found himself forced to go through something he couldn't overcome. Something that he couldn't push away with a false grin. He had to face the truth he'd been hiding all this time. Still, no one of their group did get a chance to know anything about it. But as an omniscient writer, I got the right to tell you the truth about what really happened at this time. In a strange way, I was there. And I did see everything. From now on, be warned that what follows could shock you. It may destroy the picture you had from that strange mannered colonel. If you don't intend to face the consequences, here is you chance.

If you do, you're already better than Jade, who is too lazy to give complete explanations. I'll thank you later for your patience. Now, I'll let you see the whole thing. I hope you'll survive to this. Cause, after what happen, one little girl will never be the same again. She'd lost something. The price was high. But she had no other choice but to pay. Debts really are harsh to live with. But when it saves your life, you should be grateful. Whatever the consequences are.

The six of them were walking slowly trough the Absorption Gate, gazing at everything around, or looking right in front of them, guilty feelings lingering in their torn minds, because of what was coming. This fight could be their last one. In many senses. As they were going to take another step, all walking with the same pace, an earthquake happen. A really strong one. None of them could prevent what happened next. No fonic artes nor hymns could predict the future. Only fonstones and seventh fonons could. And there were none ready for use at the moment. The shaking took them by surprise. Then the dark soil was torn in pieces. And four of them were taken away before that everything turned dark. A moment later, Luke was alone with Tear and Mieu, as Guy and Natalia were alone in another corner, far away from their friends. Anise and the colonel found themselves to fall on another twisted path of darkness, which looked like a piece of score.

The Score… The little girl tried hard not to think of Ion while she wondered over that stupid Score that had controlled her life for so long. And she couldn't believe that her parents' debts were inscribed in it too. Life wasn't unfair, but the Score was. And Van was the most unfair thing in the entire world. If she wanted to get back to her small worries of getting poor, she had to defeat him before anything else. So, it wasn't the time to get separated from everyone else.

She didn't like to be alone in the dark either. At this moment, she hadn't realised that the colonel was just next to her. And, he took her confused mumblings to use, by getting back on his feet so that she couldn't see how hard it was to stand after such a fall. With his old body, all aching, like a timing bomb. Those fonic artes were really demanding. He missed his twenties… And, he was still playing a little. He wasn't that old.

"So, it seems that earthquake has broken our formation. There're soldiers missing," Jade said with a slight grin, as if it wasn't anything at all. And it wasn't. Nothing could disturb him.

"Colonel?!" Anise hissed, surprised to find him just next to her.

It was a relief to know that she wasn't completely alone. But at the same time, there was something odd to be left alone with him. Why him, in all the boys there were in their group? Why not Guy? She sighed. Never mind, she hadn't any choice but to get up and show a shining grin, even if she was afraid by the darkness and the monsters. She hadn't anything to prove. But she couldn't look like a little girl to the colonel. Her cute charm wasn't working over him. Nor over any of their team's boys. So she clenched her fists, showing her true self, and her anger to that man which she had always considered as a crazy eccentric.

"Indeed, I couldn't be anyone else. If you're alright, we should try to go on and meet with the others…"

He didn't even look at her, already turning his back over her petite features to head in search of an exit. She followed, already smiling. If he was the only one with her, he would be the only one she could tease.

"So, you were worried about me?"

"Not at all. If you had something broken or any wound, we would have been delayed. And we can't afford such a waste of time."

"Well, you really know how to say things to make me feel better, colonel. You meanie."

She didn't add anything in their talk, so did he, and they kept on walking in silence. Unconsciously, while monsters were growling around them, and maybe because of the darkness, she let a shiver ran over her spine. And she walked closer from the colonel, to feel at least a little comforted. He didn't realise her fear, and if he did, nothing could show it, because he didn't try to calm her down. She was worried for the others, and for Ion. What if they failed? What if Van survived to this fight and turned things as he wanted to? What would happen to the rest of the world? To her poor parents, who needed her not so that they wouldn't be fooled again?

A monster crawled in their faces, forcing them to fight. Tokunaga ready, Anise grabbed her mace and upped on her cat doll. The colonel stood behind, almost not moving, preparing some fonic arte. So, she had to keep the monsters away from him until his arte would be ready. She had to be cautious. There would be no one to heal them if something bad happened. He didn't even cheer her up. He was focusing. She kept punching the monsters with her Tokunaga, trying hard not to look at him. She had a glimpse of the colonel two seconds before, and he was immobile, as a statue, lights around him and his eyes hid behind his frozen glasses. He seemed so cold, so strong and so distant. And yet, he was fighting on her side, wasn't he?

She was about to kill the monster, grinning fiercely, enjoying the battle, when stone's chips came out from the ground and pierce the beast, to make it disappear. The fight was over.

"What the…! I was going to have it!" She complained.

"Don't waste time arguing. As long as the monsters are defeated, we shouldn't mind who kill them."

"Well, I mind! It's me who has been fighting with it the whole time, and you just barge in to finish my work!"

"Don't be childish. Come on now."

His voice was as moderate as ever, and he seemed unconcerned. Anise didn't know why, but she was furious. They were in danger, alone there, in this creepy place, and all that he could do was to make her angry. She grimaced and followed him in silence. Just as before. But she couldn't take it to be used like this by this man, like if she was only a tool to fight. She was normally used to his way of talking and being mean, but now, as she was the only one he would feed with it, it didn't feel right. Not at all.

"What will happen if we meet up with Van before the others did?"

"We will have to stop him. I doubt we could make it alone, only with you holding him off while I'll be using my fonic artes, but it won't be as if we would have a choice.

"I easily see you telling him how we could have gotten there by mistake, and how we would leave him alone, so that we get out of there alive."

He didn't answer, still smiling, and his eyes still hid behind his glasses. She tried to meet the crimson gaze, which was studying things around them as they walked through teleporting doors, collecting things left in hidden chests, but she couldn't. The glasses were like ice, hiding everything nice nor bad, letting through only the coldness of his absent-minded face. He looked careless. But he was walking quietly, preventively, as the soldier he was. And if he cared not to be seen by monsters and to find his way out, he didn't care about her. Well, so it seemed.

Anise walked with him, crossing her arms over her small chest, looking grumpy and thoughtful. She couldn't know that he was thinking about her all this time, thinking that he mustn't be the greatest company for a little girl like her. Even if he looked cold, he found her cute, with her wrinkled nose that showed her anger. He was enjoying her presence, the noise of her pace. He'd always tried to enjoy everything he could meet in life, so that he would never regret anything. Some things had showed him how life was short. If he was going to live his last day, he wanted to enjoy it. He was glad to be with Anise.

"Tell me colonel, why are you so…"

Anise never got to end her sentence. The monsters that rushed over them arrived too quickly and Jade couldn't prevent them to get too near. He was carelessly thinking of something else. He wanted to hear what she had to say. But those creatures didn't give them the time for that. He prepared his fonic artes, and two of the beasts were drown into a maelstrom of water. But Anise did a mistake as Tokunaga was struggling. Two things rushed to her, their tentacles grabbing her away from her doll. She didn't find the way to push them far enough and was pushed to the ground. The colonel hurried in their direction, but the little girl was knocked out before he could be near enough.

Her head hit the ground, before the monsters passed over her small body, ready to take a piece of meat off that thing. She was still conscious, but really hurt and did see a lot of things turning around her head. Something feeling like a knife penetrated her stomach, taking out from her throat a moan of pain. And then a cry. In a flash of light, every monster around her was killed, as Jade was doing his mystic attack, the mystic cage. But it was too late. Blood was already coming out from the wound. She couldn't move anything.

"The bastards," she hissed between her clenched teeth.

A moment later, the colonel was next to her. She had her hands lying on her chest, trying hard to stop the blood to rush out. But it did hurt. And the pain was so strong that her strength was already going away. Jade studied the wound with an interested expression. Was he enjoying this too? She felt like teasing him, but the red liquid that filled up her mouth only made her cough. There wasn't a smile on his pale face anymore. The soldier was finally fully caring. It was too serious to joke around.

She was about to die. He forced her to remove her hands from her chest, so that he could see if everything was lost or not. She wanted to talk again, but he made a sign to stay quiet. A single wrinkle on his forehead seemed to show how much he wasn't joking. He was worried. Inwardly, Jade was mad at himself. How could he miss the coming of those monsters? And what if Anise died right here? It would be one fighter less to kill Van. But more than that, it would be proof of his failure. After all, he, the necromancer, couldn't fight against death. He hated that fact since the time when he was a mere child. But now, this fact was even more hateable.

"Hold on, Anise."

"Don't try to ..cheer me up… you never were…good at …that," she whispered between the bloody lines that were rolling out of her mouth.

Jade took some of the bottles they had gathered all over the world, to mix them up. He seemed as serious as ever, but his hands were slightly shaking. She said to herself that she had visions. The colonel's hands couldn't possibly be shaking. But they were. He sighed.

"It's too late, isn't it?"

"Don't be stupid. You're still young enough to get through this, Anise."

Strangely, as he didn't talk before, now he seemed to need to talk to her. It was maybe only to show him that she was still alive and that he still had the time to save her. She saw drops of sweat on his forehead. And he never sweats. But they were there, running down along his nose as he was trying hard to concentrate and not to think that she could be just about to die. Death could be so quick and merciless. He didn't want to see her dying. Not like this. There was no way he would let this happen.

After a moment, she moaned of pain. The coughs came back. It was so hard to hear them. Her petite body was slowly turning into a corpse. He couldn't take it. She was so small, so young and so full of life. How could she die like this? He wanted to prevent it. Jade had to stop it, or he would be back to that kid he had been, who couldn't understand nor face death.

"It's cold," she complained.

"Don't surrender to it. You're a soldier, remember? Fight it. I got something that will help you, just hold on a little more."

She reopened the eyes she had closed, surprised by his soft voice and ton. He really seemed to care. He was still mixing things, and empty bottles surrounded her as he was doing his mixture that would help her to feel better. So, could there still be a chance for her to survive?

"It's dark," she said.

"It was already dark before those monsters attacked us," he reminded her.

"I'm scared."

He froze a sec, surprised by her words. It didn't look like her at all. It was really getting serious. He almost let the bottle he was holding slip, the bottle which contained something that should save the little girl. He slowly slipped his hand under her head, to make her lie on his knees, as cautious as her father would be. His throat was jammed by the fear that it could not work. But he forced a smile, which looked real in all the pain she was feeling.

"Don't be. I'm here."

She sighed in relief, really comforted by his words. His voice was nice to hear, and his hands were warm. She felt cold, empty and scared, but she wasn't alone. He made her to swallow what the bottle contained, as she was pressing her hands as strongly as she could on her chest. The blood was still coming out. Her eyes were half closed. She looked pale. She coughed. He couldn't stand still any longer. She had drunk it all and was still coughing. Her hair was drenched with blood. The grin on her face was fading. The glass bottle hit the ground and broke apart.

"I'm tired."

He grabbed her in his arms, so that she lied on his hands, her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder. She looked younger than she was and older at the same time. Blood covered him too, and he knew that this blood had already flowed. It wasn't coming from her wound anymore. He pressed one of his hands very hard against her chest, over her two own hands. She was so small. So cold. But her heart was still beating.

"Hold on, Anise. Be strong."

"Colonel?"

He remembered the first time they've met, two years before. Ion had just named her the new fon master guardian. She was already a great fighter, but still a cute little girl with her two bunches. He couldn't understand why she'd never changed her way to do her hair. But she was still cute. The emperor Peony liked her the very first time he met with her. He was always joking on the fact that Jade should have had himself at least a cute daughter like this one. The colonel hadn't listened. He was realising something else at this time. He liked Anise, much more than the emperor did. He liked her way to frown, to yell with fury, to jump to romantic conclusions all the time, the way she loved money and gold, and the way she had to sulk. She was a child like no other. He envied her parents to have her.

He remembered how she teased him at first, before she knew that he was a colonel in the Malkuth army. She found him funny with his red eyes and his glasses. And he didn't care. It was nice having her around. She didn't act like a child, but yet, she had this Tokunaga of her, those Tokunagas of her, that she'd made all by herself.

She wasn't crying from the pain now. She wasn't yelling against him now. She was smiling, with her pale and petite features angelically peaceful, without a move. She was frozen, like some stone's statue. And she was beautiful and cute at the same time, even in that sorry state; surrounded by all of this blood she had lost. He was trembling. That's why she asked him:

"Colonel? What is it?"

"It's nothing. Just stay with me. You're too young to die right now. Alright?"

Her face shined with surprise. Everything was surprising her now. The fear in his voice, the softness of his ton, the slight shaking of his body, the warm feeling of his arms around her. And most of all, it was the feeling of being wanted. She felt better in his arms. She felt protected.

"Okay. I'll try."

The painful smile she saw then was a clue to what would follow in their both existences. But she couldn't understand it right now. It's always easier to see how things are turning for other people than you.

"Thank you."

She was going from surprise to surprise, but the coughs didn't let her talk before a long time. No other monsters showed. They were surrounded by rocks that Jade had made come out of the ground to protect her and to be sure he would have all his time to take care of her. Now, he just had to wait and to hope.

"Why are we fighting again?"

"You're fighting for Ion, and your parents, Anise. For their sake and for the world."

"No, I'm not… I'm fighting only to tell Mo…"

She burst in violent coughs, which stopped her sentence. She never tried to tell it wholly again. It wasn't the time for that. He watched over her, attentively listening.

"What are you fighting for colonel?"

He smiled weakly. Under his hand, the skin was soft, and no more blood come rushing out. The mixture had worked out. She was saved. Did she realised it or not already? She was using his guilty feeling for what had happened to have something out from him and to know more about who he was.

"You'll never change Anise."

It was a comforting thing to know for him. And as she was about to fall asleep, out of any danger, but still exhausted by what had happened, he answered. Hoping that she wouldn't hear.

"From now on, even if it's a stupid thought, I'll be fighting for you. For your sake."

"So you care?"

"I still have some human weaknesses after all, I guess."

"Thank you colonel."

He looked at her without understanding. She smiled and hugged him tight. And he didn't let her go. It was nice having someone to hold on to. Since he'd been wearing those ice glasses, there hadn't been anyone to take him in his arms for far too long. But the ice had melted. As Anise was sleeping next to his heart, her arms rounded up on his neck, he was crying. The ice had melted. And it felt right.

Avenged seven fold - seize the day


End file.
